50: I like this

Li Yunshu stiffly turned his neck, only to find the Empress standing right in front of him.

He suddenly had a misconception: was he in Western Zhou?

"Your— Your Majesty, why are you here?" Realizing that calling her 'Your Majesty' was inappropriate, Li Yunshu immediately changed his words, "Could it be that you were worried about me?"

He was truly curious why the Empress always appeared and disappeared mysteriously, and could always accurately find him.

Being discovered while hiding in the imperial hot spring to watch a memory orb, he endured it; after all, that was the Empress’s territory.

Now that he had run all the way to Western Zhou, the Empress could still find him in this vast capital city.

Did she place a tracker on me?

Pei Xuanji glanced at the Red Sleeve House's plaque and snorted coldly.

"If you died here, I wouldn't even bother to care."

At this moment, men entering and exiting the Red Sleeve House all looked this way.

There was no helping it; Pei Xuanji, in her luxurious dress, would make even Dong Xiaowan pale in comparison if she stood here.

Noticing more and more people stopping to stare, Li Yunshu reminded her in a low voice.

"This is not the place to talk."

Pei Xuanji's gaze swept over, and the onlookers felt a chill in their hearts, involuntarily taking a half-step back.

She didn't bother with these people, turning to stroll along the long street.

Li Yunshu followed beside her, pondering the Empress's purpose in coming to Western Zhou.

Of course, he wouldn't naively think that the Empress had truly come for him.

After walking for a distance, Pei Xuanji spoke.

"You mentioned before that you found a clue about the Three-legged Toad?"

"Yes."

Hearing about the Three-legged Toad, Li Yunshu immediately understood the Empress’s purpose in coming to Western Zhou.

However, he was still somewhat puzzled; the Empress had clearly said before that she didn't need the Three-legged Toad.

Pei Xuanji got straight to the point and asked directly.

"Where is the Three-legged Toad?"

Li Yunshu immediately became alert and turned to look at Pei Xuanji.

"If I tell you where the Three-legged Toad is, then what about our previous bet?"

Upon hearing the words ‘bet,’ Pei Xuanji immediately recalled what Li Yunshu had said when they made the bet.

‘If I don’t find it, your subject will lick Your Majesty’s feet!’

For some unknown reason, her mind automatically imagined this scene.

She took a deep breath, shaking this inexplicable image out of her head.

"I’ll go find it myself; the bet is canceled."

"No way!"

Li Yunshu refused very decisively. Good heavens, he was clearly making a profitable deal both ways, and now the Empress said she was canceling it.

The Empress, rejected, narrowed her eyes, turned to stare at Li Yunshu, and said coldly.

"Who gave you the guts?"

Li Yunshu stiffened his neck and said.

"I'm doing all this for the sake of Great Chu."

"Oh?"

Seeing the Empress’s expression, as if saying ‘I don’t believe a word you say,’ Li Yunshu immediately retorted.

"A promise is a promise, you wouldn't want the world to know that the Great Chu Empress is untrustworthy, would you?"

Pei Xuanji’s expression stiffened; she never expected this fellow to use her own words to shut her up.

She had been careless.

Who would have thought that one day she would actually need the Three-legged Toad?

"Fine!" Pei Xuanji said coldly, "As long as your information is true, I'll go back and wear—"

However, just as she was halfway through her sentence, an unexpected change occurred.

Buzz!

Rays of light appeared around the capital, soaring into the sky.

Soon, a transparent barrier appeared in the sky, enveloping the entire capital.

Li Yunshu looked up at his surroundings, and a bad premonition vaguely formed in his heart as he saw the barrier.

"What's going on?"

Pei Xuanji's expression was somewhat grim.

"Western Zhou has activated its city protection array; those inside cannot leave, and those outside cannot enter."

"What happened?" A hint of unease grew in Li Yunshu's heart.

Those inside couldn't leave, meaning that once the fake list was exposed, he would be in danger, unable to escape even if he wanted to.

Or perhaps, Wenren Jin had already discovered the list was fake, and thus sealed the capital.

Looking at the Empress beside him, he felt slightly relieved.

Fortunately, the Empress had come to Western Zhou; if things went south, he could continue to cling to her.

Thinking of this, his mind suddenly became active.

"You can't get out either?"

To this idiotic question, Pei Xuanji retorted.

"Are you questioning me?"

"Cough, cough, what did you just say you'd wear if the information was true?"

Pei Xuanji clasped her hands behind her back, refusing to admit it.

"Did I say that?"

"You did! You said if the information was true, you'd go back and wear black stockings."

Hearing this, Pei Xuanji paused in her steps and corrected him.

"I never said what I'd wear."

Seeing that the Empress wouldn't admit it, Li Yunshu imitated her, clasping his hands behind his back with a leisurely air.

"Then I'll go find the Three-legged Toad myself."

Anyway, only he knew where the Three-legged Toad was, and the Empress couldn't renege on the bet.

"Suit yourself."

Pei Xuanji no longer paid attention to Li Yunshu, but continued to stroll.

The sealing of the capital naturally caused a commotion.

People didn't know what had happened, so many ran to the city gates to inquire about the situation.

However, seeing that nothing else happened besides the city being sealed, the common people were the first to calm down.

Western Zhou was different from Great Chu; there was no market system here, unlike Great Chu, where one could only go to the East Market and West Market to buy things.

There were many small vendors along the streets here, making it much livelier than Great Chu.

Moreover, there was no curfew here.

Even though it was already dusk, the number of pedestrians on the street increased rather than decreased.

Although the sky was dark, as the lanterns of each household were hung, the entire street was still as bright as day.

The two walked in silence, just strolling through the streets.

Pei Xuanji suddenly stopped when she passed a stall.

Beside her, Li Yunshu curiously examined the stall in front of them.

This was a ring toss stall; a wide cloth was spread on the ground, with various items displayed on it: antiques, jade articles, toys, jewelry, and so on.

He first carefully scanned all the items on the stall, finding nothing unusual.

Then, he glanced at the Empress from the corner of his eye; this stall contained only ordinary items, and he didn't know why the Empress had stopped.

Did she find something she liked?

Li Yunshu looked at the jewelry on the stall; they were all unremarkable and clearly of poor quality.

Such stalls, where a single ring toss didn't cost much, mostly displayed cheap goods.

Even if someone won, the stall owner wouldn't lose too much.

Only one or two valuable items would be placed in the most difficult-to-hit spot on the stall to attract customers.

As soon as the two stopped, the stall owner, with a large bundle of rings on his arm, came forward.

"Young Master, would you like to play a round? One copper coin per ring."

Seeing that the Empress had no intention of leaving, Li Yunshu spoke.

"Ten rings."

"Alright."

The stall owner counted out ten rings from his arm, handed them to Li Yunshu, and then collected ten copper coins.

Li Yunshu held a ring in his hand, eager to try.

"Which one do you like?"

The Empress glanced at the ten rings in Li Yunshu's hand and said calmly.

"Toss at whichever one you like."

"Okay."

Li Yunshu nodded, then turned and placed the ring in his hand around the Empress’s neck.

"I like this one."